In my Kitchen: Stockpile Dinner Menu 2/13 - 2/19

If you want to print your own monthly menu, make sure you click here :)

Here is my weekly dinner menu. I am "cooking" a lot of leftovers this week. As much as I love easy dinners, my favorite part of this week is I have everything I need to make every meal!! No grocery shopping for me this week! Woo Hoo! 

I will still be couponing though. Can't give that one up ;)

Monday: Meatballs and Rice with Veggies

Tuesday: BBQ Chicken Sandwich

Wednesday: Chicken Nuggets and fruit

*it is my daughter's birthday and this is her all time favorite meal :)

Thursday: Rachel's house

Friday: blueberry pancakes

Saturday: Ham, potatoes, and veggies

Sunday: pepperoni pizza on tortillas

In my Kitchen: Stockpile Dinner Menu 2/6 - 2/11.....and a printable monthly menu!

I love that Rachel put together this monthly dinner menu and has shared it with everyone! If you want to print your own, click here.  Now I am trying to convince her to do a weekly menu for me ;)

Here is my dinner menu for the week:

Monday

Greek chicken pasta salad

     *this is going to be an easy meal since the pasta salad is leftover from tonight :)

Tuesday

Lentil shephard's pie

    From my stockpile: lentils, potatoes, vegetable soup

Wednesday

Chicken sandwich and salad

    From my stockpile: chicken, bread

Thursday

Rachel's house

    I love it when Rachel cooks my family dinner!

Friday

Ham and Eggs

    From my stockpile: eggs, ham, veggies

Saturday

stew, potato soup, and chili in bread bowls

*it is my 2 year old's birthday dinner and between both sides of the family we will have 23 people so we are serving 3 types of soup :)

Sunday

meatballs and rice with veggies

    From my stockpile: ground beef, rice, bbq sauce

    On my grocery list: fresh veggies

In my Kitchen: Stockpile Dinner Menu

I absolutely hate having to come up with dinner in a hurry. I have a two year old and a 10 month old and as soon as the clock hits 5 they think I haven't fed them all day. If I have a plan it is a lot less stressful for me! This is more of a rough draft menu though. If I don't feel like making what is on the menu for the night, I will switch it out with another night, but it is nice to be organized (in one aspect of my life. lol.)

My week:

Monday -- Taco salad and fruit

  From my stockpile: ground beef, black beans, tortilla chips, olives

  On my grocery list: lettuce, tomato, bell pepper, fruit

Tuesday -- Mandarin chicken salad

  From my stockpile: chicken, mandarin oranges, Asian ginger dressing, almond slices

  On my grocery list: lettuce

Wednesday -- Meatballs and rice with veggies

  From my stockpile: ground beef, bread crumbs, rice, bbq sauce

  On my grocery list: onion, carrots, broccoli

Thursday -- grilled cheese and salad

  From my stockpile: bread, cheese

  On my grocery list: lettuce, veggies for salad

Friday -- Eggs/toast/yogurt

  From my stockpile: bread

  On my grocery list: eggs, yogurt, milk

Saturday -- Homemade pizza

  I am not cooking, my wonderful husband is :)

Sunday -- lentil chili (YUM!)

  From my stockpile: lentils, canned tomato, garlic, seasoning

  On my grocery list: bell pepper, jalapenos, onion

I love that having a stockpile means I can save around 50% on my meals. It also means I can afford more fresh fruits and vegetables! 

What is your favorite part of your stockpile?

Dinner Menu

I have to say this week's dinner menu is looking pretty good!

I did spend a bit more than usual this week on my groceries, but I wanted to try some new things. To do this, I added the cost of tilapia fish. 

So, here's what the week look like:

• Monday: Tilapia Fish and rice with steamed green beans
• Tuesday: Ham with lightly seasoned potatoes and spinach salad
• Wednesday: Chicken Fajitas (I let this one count for all the needed food groups)
• Thursday: Spaghetti with garlic toast and green beans w/carrots
• Friday: Kids at Papa and Grammy's house (no cooking!!!)
• Saturday: Black beans with ground turkey tacos
• Sunday: Sandwiches and fruit :)

I thought I would share a new recipe that I'll be trying for the 

Black Beans & Ground Beef Tacos

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of lean ground beef (or use ground turkey that's on sale this week at Fred Meyer)
• 1 can black beans
• 12 oz. Salsa
• 3/4 package of shredded cheese (I love the Mexican blend for added spice)
• Hard taco shells or tortillas
• Toppings: olives, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream (I use ranch)

How To:

1. Brown the ground meat in a skillet on medium heat. Drain grease.
2. Add black beans and salsa in meat and put heat on low to medium.
3. Cook until beans are throughly heated. The salsa juices will boil a bit.
4. Heat taco shells or tortillas
5. When beans, meat, and salsa is heated, add cheese
6. Let melt and blend into meat, bean, and salsa mixture
7. Set toppings out and prepare to serve.

Have fun planning! Here is the menu that I use to plan my meals. I have it on my fridge in a sheet protector and use wet erase pens on it. 

Menu Planner

I'd also love to hear about any recipes regarding fish or beans. Have one you love? Let me know!

Starting the New Year With a New Plan...

Okay, so maybe not a new plan; just a tweaked and better plan.

For the past 4-5 years (I've never really kept track), I have made a monthly menu. Yes, I have. I know, right? Sounds like I'm a control freak of some kind. Honestly, not even close. I do it to save time. I know, that sounds better doesn't it? :) Anyway, my menus have saved me not only time, but money. Why? Because I'm not buying random stuff in hopes of throwing something together when my kids whine loud enough to get my attention. In fact, I just have to buy what's needed by making a very detailed list based off of?... You guessed it, my menu. Aw! Doesn't that sound nice?

Okay, so now, this year. 2012. I am improving my menu. Just like anybody else, I love to eat. I love yummy food and good company. I love gathering around the table with my kids, reminding them to eat their vegetables, and hearing them giggle about stories from our day. Sounds lovely doesn't it? Well, I would be lying if I didn't mention that sometimes there are tears about what we're eating. Yup, totally normal family. :)

Sorry, losing track. Anyways, I am continuing my menu planning, but will be adding more of a balance. Balance what? Yes, a balance. I use a lot of red meat. Yes, I know, not the healthiest. Well, not the worst either. We do get a cow every year so there is a lot less fat; if that counts. Here's my balance: I plan on doing one day of each: red meat, chicken, fish, ham, and beans. I want the meat to be less than the main course and have more veggies and fruit. Doesn't sound difficult....

Here's what I'm thinking will happen our first week (we'll start next week in full swing; the 9th).

• Monday: Tilapia Fish and rice with steamed green beans
• Tuesday: Ham with lightly seasoned potatoes and spinach salad
• Wednesday: Chicken Fajitas (I let this one count for all the needed food groups)
• Thursday: Spaghetti with garlic toast and green beans w/carrots
• Friday: Kids at Papa and Grammy's house (no cooking!!!)
• Saturday: Black beans with ground turkey tacos
• Sunday: Sandwiches and fruit :)

With this new take on my menu, I will be in search of some new recipes. Ones that use beans and ones that use fish. I'd love to hear from you on this one. :)

To anyone else who's hoping to make some changes:

Have fun planning! Here is the menu that I use to plan my meals. I have it on my fridge in a sheet protector and use wet erase pens on it. 

Menu Planner

Stockpile Dinner Menu: 12-12 to 12-16

Crazy to think another week is upon us! Where did my weekend go? LOL!

Here's what I have on my menu for this week. Every meal is based off what I have in my stockpile.

• Monday: Chicken Alfredo with carrots and pepper slices
• Tuesday: Chicken Pasta Salad with green beans
• Wednesday: Pot Roast with rice and salad
• Thursday: Omelets with fruit salad
• Friday: ??? Kids going to my parents house or I might be headed to Portland. Dinner is iffy.

I really enjoy making a menu. My goal is to always have vegetables and to get a variety of proteins. I also like reusing leftovers. As you can see, I'll be making chicken tonight and whatever is left over will be added to a pasta salad filled with veggies. Any extra veggies I chop will be used Thursday in the omelets! It's using everything I have and prepping for upcoming meals as well.

Things I will need to buy this week:

eggs

fruit

onions

pepper

carrots 

What's on your menu?

My weekly Dinner Menu (feeding my family from my stockpile)

Here is this week's dinner menu. As always, I go through my stockpile and my fridge before I make my menu so I know what I have. This week I have a few items that need to be used since I will be out of town next week.

Monday: chicken pot pies (these were on my menu for last week but were never made, so they are on the menu again).

Tuesday: sausage and perogies with red potatoes (YUM!)

Wednesday: steak stir fry

Thursday: Rachel's house

Friday: pancakes and eggs

Saturday: Chicken cordon blu and veggies

Sunday: grilled cheese and tomato soup

My grocery list:

sausage link

broccoli

onion

ham

Everything else I have in my stockpile!

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My dad taught me how to make red potatoes and they are easy and wonderful!

cube potatoes and place in glass baking dish

add garlic, diced onion, johnnys season-all and butter

bake until tender

I actually cover mine with plastic wrap, poke holes to allow steam to escape, and microwave them, stirring occasionally.

My Weekly Dinner Menu (from my stockpile)

Every Monday I put together my dinner menu for the week. This way I am using what is in my stockpile and spending less money each week. Before I start I go through my pantry and through my fridge to refresh my mind with what I already have.  I hate leftovers that look and taste like leftovers so I try to turn them into something else.
Here is what my menu this week looks like:

Meatless Monday: white bean soup

Tuesday: chicken quesadillas with leftover chicken

Wednesday: Shepard's pie

Thursday: we eat at Rachel's house just about every Thursday :)

Friday (breakfast for dinner): biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs

Saturday: Chicken pot pie (using leftover biscuits)

Sunday: Spaghetti

Here is my grocery list for the week:

Carrots

Celery

Peppers

Butternut squash

Bananas

Eggs

What is on your dinner menu this week?

Stockpile Dinner Menu: 10-30 to 11-05

One of my pet peeves is spending a day racking my brain as to what we should have for dinner. It really drives me nuts; literally. To avoid this pain in my brain, I started making dinner menus. I would say it's been a part of our family's survival for about 4 years. It makes sense to me to spend 10-15 minutes making a menu for the month versus an all day, everyday, nonstop and painful thought process in my brain. 15 minutes? Sounds so much better to me.

This week is a little crazy. Friday through Sunday is full of parties for us. We will have a pretty simple menu.

Here's what I have planned this week:

Sunday:

• Homemade Pizzas- tortillas, red pasta sauce, shredded cheese, & veggies of choice

Monday:

• Sandwiches and Soup

Tuesday:

• Birthday Dinner at McDonalds

Wednesday:

• Chicken Fajitas - chicken, tortillas, onions, peppers, shredded cheese, olives, tomatoes, ranch

Thursday:

• French Toast and fruit (I think we'll be a bit sugared up!)

Friday: 

• Pizza! My daughter is having a sleep over for her Birthday. We get to treat ourselves for dinner. This rarely happens.

Saturday:

• Sandwiches! My kiddos will be at my parents so I can head to a Birthday Party. Sandwiches are quick and easy.

This is going to be a fast and crazy week. I'm excited to celebrate my daughter's Birthday and her friends are always a joy to have around. All I can say is, Bring On The Craziness!

Have a great week!

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Rachel's Recipes!

This week I want to share with you my Vegetable Pasta Salad. I love this salad because it's easy to get your carbs, veggies, and meat all in one. 

What you need:

• 1 box of either Penne pasta or Rotini past
• 1/2 cup of either Creamy Caesar dressing or Italian dressing
• Your choice of chopped veggies like: bell peppers, olives, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, ect.
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice
• Chopped chicken or Shredded Pot Roast

How to make:

• Cook pasta as directed
• let sit in strainer while you chop your veggies
• mix pasta and veggies together in a large bowl
• pour on dressing and mix
• add meat to your salad or put on the side
• serve either chilled or warm (should serve 4-5 as a meal or 6-8 as a side)

This is a super quick meal. I love it and so do my kids. You can cool it if you like, which is perfect for summer, or you can serve warm, which is perfect for winter and with meat in it. I take this to all my pot luck type events and it is always requested at family gatherings. It's a perfect dish.

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PRINTABLES!

If you're interested in starting a menu, you should print this out!

Print Menu

Also, check out this shopping list!

Print Shopping List

The shopping list is great for making a list of your top 10 items you love to stock up on. Also, your family can add things you need to pick up through out the week.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

How to use these printables!

Print out these sheets and put them in a page protector sleeve. Then grab a dry erase marker to start your menus and list. Simply wipe clean when needed. Hang on your fridge with magnets and you're good to go.

Stockpile Dinner Menu: My Dinner Menu Based Off My Stockpile! 10-23 to 10-29

One of my pet peeves is spending a day racking my brain as to what we should have for dinner. It really drives me nuts; literally. To avoid this pain in my brain, I started making dinner menus. I would say it's been a part of our family's survival for about 4 years. It makes sense to me to spend 10-15 minutes making a menu for the month versus an all day, everyday, nonstop and painful thought process in my brain. 15 minutes? Sounds so much better to me.

I love making a menu! I know I've said it before, but I truly do. It allows me keep tabs on my stockpile and put my energy to better use. Instead of spending the day coming up with a dinner plan, I can focus on my 4 crazy but sweet kids. :)

Here's what I have planned this week:

Sunday:

• Hawaiian Sandwiches (a fave with the kids)
• I will need to get out a Pot Roast for Monday

Monday:

• Crock Pot Roast with onions, peppers, carrots, and garlic
• Salad

Tuesday:

• Vegetable Pasta Salad
• Leftover pot roast

Wednesday:

• Grilled Ham and Cheese sandwiches
• Apple and Pear slices

Thursday:

• Taco bar! (ground beef, rice, cheese, onions, tomatoes, olives, peppers, and sauces)

Friday: 

• Amariah's Choice (my oldest loves to cook on Fridays so I will probably let her do  Chicken Alfredo w/green beans)

Saturday:

• Grilled Cheese sandwiches w/Tomato Soup

That's it for this week. Pretty much the only things I'll need to buy is bread and produce. Oh, and I still have a coupon for Express Salad that I'll use as well. Everything from my stockpile is: ground beef, tortillas, taco shells, shredded cheese, mayo, mustard, chicken, pasta, salad dressing, tomato soup, pot roast, frozen green beans, rice and pineapple.

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Rachel's Recipes!

This week I want to share with you my Vegetable Pasta Salad. I love this salad because it's easy to get your carbs, veggies, and meat all in one. 

What you need:

• 1 box of either Penne pasta or Rotini past
• 1/2 cup of either Creamy Caesar dressing or Italian dressing
• Your choice of chopped veggies like: bell peppers, olives, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, ect.
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice
• Chopped chicken or Shredded Pot Roast

How to make:

• Cook pasta as directed
• let sit in strainer while you chop your veggies
• mix pasta and veggies together in a large bowl
• pour on dressing and mix
• add meat to your salad or put on the side
• serve either chilled or warm (should serve 4-5 as a meal or 6-8 as a side)

This is a super quick meal. I love it and so do my kids. You can cool it if you like, which is perfect for summer, or you can serve warm, which is perfect for winter and with meat in it. I take this to all my pot luck type events and it is always requested at family gatherings. It's a perfect dish.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

PRINTABLES!

If you're interested in starting a menu, you should print this out!

Print Menu

Also, check out this shopping list!

Print Shopping List

The shopping list is great for making a list of your top 10 items you love to stock up on. Also, your family can add things you need to pick up through out the week.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

How to use these printables!

Print out these sheets and put them in a page protector sleeve. Then grab a dry erase marker to start your menus and list. Simply wipe clean when needed. Hang on your fridge with magnets and you're good to go.

Stockpile Dinner Menu 10-10 to 10-14

One of my pet peeves is spending a day racking my brain as to what we should have for dinner. It really drives me nuts; literally. To avoid this pain in my brain, I started making dinner menus. I would say it's been a part of our family's survival for about 4 years. It makes sense to me to spend 10-15 minutes making a menu for the month versus an all day, everyday, nonstop and painful thought process in my brain. 15 minutes? Sounds so much better to me.

When I started couponing, my menu making had to change. I used to make the menu and base my shopping trip off of it, but now I base my menu off of what I've stocked up on. This is a great way to make sure I'm using the items I got a great deal on and it also helps me only stock up on the things we use. Some of my favorite things to stock up on are pasta, meats (we buy a cow every year and I love the Zaycon chicken), cereal, Better Oats Oatmeal, pasta sauces, Rice-A-Roni (the Natures Way kinds only have 5-7 ingredients and sugar and high fructose are not one of them), tortillas, cooking sauces like Franks Red Hot, Worcestershire Sauce, Teriyaki, ect., beans, shredded cheese and olives (you'll learn that about me quite quickly; I love olives and ranch).

Here's what I'm putting together as my menu for this week. I try making easy meals on busy days and more labor intensive meals when I can, all based off my stockpile from couponing.

• Monday- Chicken Fajitas - This will use my tortillas, chicken, shredded cheese, diced veggies and olives.
• Tuesday- Burrito Casserole w/Salad - I will use tortillas, beans, cheese, and a red sauce w/ Frank's Red Hot sauce and one of my free salads I received from Vocalpoint.
• Wednesday- Spaghetti and Meatballs w/ green beans - spaghetti noodles, red sauce, meat w/seasoning & a bag of Green Giant Steamers Green Beans (I got a bunch of these when they first came out for about $.50 I think. Gotta love new products)
• Thursday- Shepherd's Pie - Hamburger, Mashed Potatoes, Vegetable Beef soup, Shredded cheese
• Friday - Homemade Pizzas - Tortillas, left over red sauces, shredded cheese, diced veggies and olives w/left over salad.

Okay, so all I will need to get this week will be my produce and my free salads. Other than that, I have everything down in my freezer or store room. It's going to be a pretty easy week.

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Rachel's Recipes:

Here are a few recipes of items listed above. I love simplicity, but healthy (well sorta). I try to make sure we get all food groups in our meals (minus the junk food of course). Some days are better than others, just so you know. :)

Burrito Casserole

This is a great back up meal. I always have the items in my house for this and spaghetti just in case I don't have time to make what's on the menu or for sick days and such.

What you'll need:

• Tortillas (enough for everyone to have 1)
• 1-2 can of refried beans and/or black beans
• 1 bag of shredded cheese (your choice of cheese)
• 1 jar of a red sauce like spaghetti, tomato, or even enchilada sauce (I love the enchilada sauce)
• diced veggies like peppers, carrots, tomatoes or onion (totally your choice)

How to make:

1. Fill your tortillas with a portion of beans and cheese.

2. Wrap like a burrito and place in 9x11 (or smaller depending on family size) baking dish.

3. Cover your burritos with sauce, cheese and veggies

4. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until warm in center

5. Serve and enjoy!

A few options here are that you can use pre-made burritos and you can also put the veggie in the burritos. I happen to like my veggies in the sauce and if I'm in a huge hurry, I may skip the veggies all together and serve a salad or carrot sticks instead.

My Shepherds' Pie

I have made this recipe based off of one my mom made when I was little. Come to think of it, so did the burrito casserole (it was cheap enchiladas to us). I have made it this way for years and everyone who has had it loves it. It is a big request around here. It's easy to make it healthier than I do, but this week it lands on a busy day, so quick is how I will make it which ends up not being the healthiest. Make adjustments as you see fit.

What you'll need:

• 1 lb. of cooked ground beef (I like to add black pepper and minced garlic)
• 3-4 cups of mashed potatoes (this is where I will use 2 Idahoan Potato Pouches. Just add boiling water and mix)
• 1 Family Size or 3 cans of Vegetable Beef Soup
• 1 cup shredded cheese

How to make:

1. Put cooked ground beef in the bottom of a baking dish (9x11 is what I think mine is)

2. Spread mashed potatoes out over ground beef (we're doing the layering effect here)

3. Pour and spread your soup on top of the mashed potatoes

4. Sprinkle shredded cheese across the top

5. Bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes or until warm in center (I use the finger test for this)

6. Serve and enjoy! (makes enough to feed 5 if you serve nothing else. If you serve a salad or something, this will go a lot further)

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

PRINTABLES!

If you're interested in starting a menu, you should print this out!

Print Menu

Also, check out this shopping list!

Print Shopping List

The shopping list is great for making a list of your top 10 items you love to stock up on. Also, your family can add things you need to pick up through out the week.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

How to use these printables!

Print out these sheets and put them in a page protector sleeve. Then grab a dry erase marker to start your menus and list. Simply wipe clean when needed. Hang on your fridge with magnets and you're good to go.